Various types of pan and support frame assemblies with handles are presently on the market. In some such assemblies, a disposable, aluminum foil pan is supported on an underlying support frame. Typically a turkey, roast or the like is positioned on the pan and then becomes partially submerged in the cooking juices. Further, the bottom of the pan itself is subjected to the forces applied by the underlying frame and to possible damage therefrom.
Typical pan arrangements with underlying support frame are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,852,760 and 4,717,038. In some cases the frames support the pan thereon, and in other cases the frames both support the pans and connect the pans to the frames. In all cases carrying handles are provided for transporting the supported pan from place to place.
Pans having a support grill for elevating an item to be cooked above a pan for collecting juices are also known. These serve to prevent the food to be roasted from becoming partially submerged in the juices released from the food during cooking. Such support grills typically are not attached to the pan, but instead are merely placed thereon.
It would be of advantage to provide a combination cooking rack and pan which provides the advantages of a cooking rack with the disposability of an aluminum foil pan, and one in which the user has the option of disposing of the combination or reusing the cooking rack.
It would also be of further advantage to provide a combination cooking rack and pan detachably connected to each other so that the user has the option of lifting the combination (including any item placed on the rack) as a unit or of readily detaching the rack and lifting it (and any item placed thereon) and transporting such away from the pan.
Preferably, it would be desirable to provide such an improved pan and rack assembly with mechanisms that can be readily operated to effectively grip the pan with the rack and that can be operated to release the pan when desired.
The present invention provides an improved rack for assembly with a pan which can accommodate designs having the above-discussed benefits and features.